Why use Military Time Instead of 12:30 PM?
Military time was invented to eliminate miscommunication when telling the time. It helps to clearly differentiate between 12:30 pm and 12:30 am. For example if a departure time is stated as 12:30 it’s not immediately clear whether that means 12:30 pm or 12:30 am.
How to Convert 12:30 PM to Military Time
1. Determine if 12:30 pm is before or after midday
We can tell this by looking at whether the time is followed by am or pm. P.M. is an abbrevation of post meridiem, which is Latin for after midday. That means 12:30 pm is after midday.
2. Calculate the hours and minutes since midday
Before we can convert to military time we need to know how much time has passed since midday. At 12:30 pm we know it is 0 hours and 30 minutes since midday.
3. Convert hours to military time
12:30 pm is after midday so we simply take our hours since midday (0) and add 12 to get the military time in hours. That means the military time in hours is 12.
4. Combine the hours and the minutes
The military time in minutes is the number of minutes calculated in step two which is 30. Military time is given as four digits with the hours first, so the military time for 12:30 pm is 1230.
What Time is 12:30 PM in Military Time?
The military time for 12:30 pm is 1230. In some situations you may also need to state the military time zone. If you are stating the time in your local time zone the full military time for 12:30 pm would be 1230J (J for Juliet). More commonly the time is quoted as 1230Z (Z for Zulu) which indicates 12:30 pm in the UTC time zone.
How do you say 12:30 PM in Military Time?
When you are saying 12:30 pm in military time you should state the digits 1230 as twelve thirty hours. In some cases it is not necessary to finish the message with hours. If it is recommend to observe a military time zone you might say 1230Z as twelve thirty hours Zulu time or simply twelve thirty Zulu.